This council has no confidence in the Board, Chief Executive and Chairman of Northamptonshire Partnership Homes and calls on them all to resign.”
I submitted my motion to WNC on 13 November 24 for the meeting 28 November.
More notice than the rules say are required. All motions are checked by legal team at WNC, if there are issues they normally give advice about the wording and areas of concern. These can be tweaked and the motion accepted.
Indeed, WNC rules state that any motion that has not been ruled Out of Order will be printed on the meeting agenda.
My motion was printed, it was accepted and it must have been checked and found in order.
28.2 Motions that have been received and not ruled Out of Order will be shared with the leader of each political group (and/or their nominee) prior to the publication of the summons, where possible.
The Conservatives at their Monday evening Group Meeting, cooked up a wheeze to prevent this being debated by having the motion ruled out of order. My motion could identify the board, Chief Executive and Chair of NPH.
6.2(d) Names or identifies individual service users, members of staff or members of staff of partner agencies; or
The Chair, the woeful, Cllr Jo Gilford, claimed not have read my motion. She did not read the agenda. Did not read the Chair’s briefing notes that were circulated prior to the meeting. Did not notice this on the group leaders pre meet that I attended and she was there too. With this level of incompetence is it any wonder we have such poor governance?
My motion was deemed out of order. I was silenced.
A second rouse to rule the Labour motion out of order failed. However, when I tried to speak on this motion I was prevented by the Chair, my request to speak was in time and in order. The Chair did not understand that she called the seconder of the Labour motion to speak and not the proposer to sum up.
This is nothing short of conspiracy of silence. What are they trying to hide? Why are they using procedural chicinary to prevent debate on their record and woeful delivery. Why do the tenants have to put up with such inadequates making decisions on their lives.
It is insane that the Chief Executive of NPH appeared on BBC Radio. (2 hrs 10mins in) Councillors cannot question or hold these folks to account. We are expected to give them millions of pounds, outsource the reputation of the council to this organisation, contract them to look after tenants and their safety, yet attempt to ask why they are doing so badly, it is a wall of silence.
I won’t be silenced, this is what I had prepared to say had I not been silenced.
This latest clown show begins 3hrs 23 mins in at YouTube.
Speaking at the full council meeting Thursday 28 November 2024, Ian McCord tried to say:-
As an ALMO, there’s already a real focus on always putting the resident first – while helping to keep them safe and secure – and the continual improvement of services, so I can’t wait to get started.”
The words of the newly appointed Chief Executive of NPH just 18 months ago.
Yesterday we get the judgement of the regulator,
there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed.
If the first statement is right then the decline happened in the last 18 months, if it is not right, the lying and deception has been endemic since day one.
NPH have given this council wrong information. I don’t have sufficient knowledge to come to a judgement if this was a deliberate act of deception or incompetence. Or cover up following incompetence.
It’s immaterial. Deception or incompetence the outcome should be the same. It’s time to go.
Our residents have been let down by NPH. This council must have an opinion on that. The former portfolio holder, now leader of this council has the great excuse that he may have asked the right questions but was given the wrong answers.
Mistakes may have been made, but not by him. And I will accept that as I cannot prove otherwise. But that means those who did mislead must be held accountable for their failure.
Everyone, at the former Northampton Borough venerated NPH. It is little wonder, a quick look at the board members past and present reads as a roll call of the great and good of Northampton Borough Council. Cllrs Beardsworth, Kilbride, Roberts, Lane, Ashraf, Smith, Hinch, Sergeant and others have all passed through the board.
Former chief officers, former leaders all passed through over the years. Some staying for a few weeks others for a year or three. The WNC councillor board members have resigned now. Cllr Hinch left 31 March after 3 years service.
Cllr Purser went on 14 November two years after appointment. I saw a press report where he was concerned about attributing blame. I want accountability – not blame. One name stands out for his length of service to the board – Cllr Kilbride. He resigned 16 Oct after nine and half years of service. What happened on the 16th Oct, three directors resigned that day, Cllr Kilbride and two others with 6 and 10 years service.
These folks are the eyes and ears of this council on that board. What did the ask? What did the see? What did they look for? Hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing? If it was all great 18 months ago, did they not see the decline?
But I doubt the decline was that fast. I think NPH was a house of cards. When I first came into contact with NPH a few years back I thought they were a delinquent and out of control organisation. They were outraged I had the temerity to question a scheme with a funding gap of many millions.
The cabinet report sets out a long list of issues that need tackling, data reporting, fire safety certification, condition standards. The basics that any good landlord should be on top of. By any measure and the council’s own admission, they have failed.
This is the latest public sector failure in Northants. Are we just going to append NPH on the list? The common theme no one is accountable. No one takes responsibility when things go wrong. Move along, nothing to see. What we get instead is procedural chicanery, desperate attempts to shut things down and sweep it all under the carpet. The problem we have is the carpet is touching the roof now.
How can this council move forward with NPH if there is no change? How can we give tenants the reassurance they will be better looked after and safe in their homes with no change? We just had an election on the theme of change. A long list of failures of the previous government detailed and change offered. The identification of the issue and the remedy is the same – sweep the incumbents away. We cannot have any confidence things will improve if those who messed up are allowed to remain as if nothing has happened.
Either this council has confidence in NPH or it does not. Support my motion and send a clear message that we will hold you to account on behalf of tenants and tax payers. Defeat this motion and you say failure, lying, incompetence does not matter. Those who have messed up must be held responsible and accountable for their actions and inactions.
I have no confidence that those who brought us to this point will be able to lead the way out. Support my motion and for the first time in decades in this area support, openness, transparency, good governance and accountability in office.
Ends